1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser machining apparatus comprising a plurality of laser irradiating sections and work mounting tables disposed so as to face the laser irradiating sections, and to a laser machining method using the laser machining apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
As a prior art laser machining apparatus, there is known a laser machining apparatus having a plate-like work supplying unit, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-139170 for example, comprising work transferring means for transferring plate-like workpieces from a first work mounting section to a second work mounting section, workpiece thickness detecting means for detecting whether or not one workpiece is mounted on the second work mounting section, and work transfer control means for controlling, when the workpiece thickness detecting means detects that a plurality of workpieces is mounted on the second work mounting section, the work transferring means to return extra workpieces to the first work mounting section until one workpiece is left on the second work mounting section.
However, in case of a laser machining apparatus comprising a plurality of work mounting sections, it takes time to transfer workpieces, and machining efficiency drops if the workpieces are to be transferred one by one.
Additionally, although a transfer time may be shortened by providing the same number of second work mounting sections as first work mounting sections, and by removing workpieces from a plurality of work mounting sections at the same time, this is not practical because it requires a large installation area for the laser machining apparatus.